Complicated
by Rica-shay
Summary: Speed and Delko must put their hard feeling aside when the object of their affection is the victim of a viscous crime.


_**Complicated**_

**Summary**: In this fiction, Speed and Delko must put their hard feelings aside when the object of their affection is the victim of a viscous crime. Sarah Stokes is an original female character. For visualization purposes, I'm going to ask you to envision Christina Millian (singer) as her character.

_Oh and F.Y.I. I'm kinda new to so please bear with me until I get the hang of how to use this._

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"Remind me again why we're here," Calleigh Duquesne raised a suspicious eyebrow at her co-worker, Eric Delko. The two rode in Eric's silver 2004 Ford Explorer, about to enter Palmdale Springs, an upscale apartment complex.

Eric squinted in the Miami sunlight. "There's just something I gotta pick up real quick." He offered a sketchy explanation.

"Pick up something real quick...or see some**_one_** real quick," Calleigh smiled as she reached for a pair of gray tinted sunglasses rested on the dashboard and handed them to Eric.

Eric accepted the sunglasses and suavely put them on. "It's not like that," he grinned, knowing exactly what his street-smart colleague was thinking. He had a reputation for being a successful ladies man. "This is a work related stop."

"Oh really!"

"Yeah really!" He nodded, countering her criticism.

Spotting a parking space, he stopped and backed in the SUV flawlessly. When the car was shut off he removed the sunglasses and looked over at Callie. "I swear its work related. Come on." He waved before opening the door and exited the vehicle.

"What a way to celebrate solving our last crime scene but by visiting one of Delko's girlfriends." She sighed before following him out.

Palmdale Springs was an amazingly beautiful complex. The apartments were recently built. The setup reminded Calleigh of the apartment complex in Melrose Place with its two-storied structure, gorgeous tropical plant life and a pool located in the middle of the courtyard. She followed behind Eric as he began to march up the nearest stairway. Her boots clicked hypnotically as her heels hit the paved sidewalk.

When she reached the bottom of the stairwell, she spun around to get another angle of view of the complexes' scenery and got a look at the cars in the resident parking spaces. "Hey!" Her southern accent echoed.

"What?" Eric stopped midway up the stairs.

"I know exactly who we're here to see." She pointed at a sky blue Ford Mustang convertible that was parked in space 2E. She knew off the bat that the car belonged to Sarah Stokes: a young lab technician at the Miami crime lab, and also a co-worker of both her and Eric. "I knew there was something going on between the two of you."

"You figured that, huh?" Eric blushed slightly.

"Uh huh. The two of you...**_and_** Speed," she added at the last minute.

"No comment," Eric exhaled at the mention of Speed's name. He waited for Calleigh to catch up to him. "You know about that too?" He said referring to the triangle that had recently formed between Sarah, Speed, and himself.

"Its hard not to notice," Calleigh shrugged, her voice soft and honest. She cast her gaze to the ground. "When she first started at the lab, I could tell Speed had a thing for her, even though he wouldn't admit it to me. Then it started spreadin' that you and Sarah met up at some club and had a good time. And after that, it was obvious there was some hostility between you and Speed. Its not that hard to conclu—"

"I get it, I get it," Eric cut her off. He then led the two up the remainder of the stairs.

"So how serious are you two?" Calleigh's curiosity got the best of her.

"I don't know. We're not exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, but we're not exactly dating either."

"I see. So other than this being a colleague's apartment, explain to me how this visit relates to work?"

The two stopped in front of apartment 208. "She's taking vacation days and wanted to know when we cracked the McKinley case." Eric knocked on the door.

"And you couldn't just call her," Calleigh questioned.

"I did. No answer." Eric knocked on the door again. The two paused to wait and see if someone would come.

"Her cell?" This time Calleigh rapped against the white door. Once again there was no answer.

"That's strange." Eric grew suspicious. "Sarah!" He shouted her name with no reply.

"Something's wrong." Calleigh too became suspicious. She felt her stomach drop. Something was defiantly wrong. Nodding towards the doorknob, she gestured for her partner to check if the door was open. Meanwhile, she placed a hand over her gun but left it in the holster.

Eric opened the door a crack, and then gradually opened it fully. His stare traveled into the apartment. His eyebrows furrowed at the stage of the residence. The usually squeaky clean living space was cluttered with clothing and a variety of Sarah's belongings that were knocked over.

Eric and Calleigh silently stepped in. It was no doubt that something was seriously wrong. Further inside, Eric could see the mess in more detail. He had been to Sarah's apartment before, and could identify everything that was out of place. The mirror in her foyeé was slanted on a 45° angle, a small table had been knocked to the ground, two of its legs broken, the vase of silk flowers the once rested on top of it lay on the floor in bits and pieces. In the living room, cushions from the sofas were pulled and flung all over the floor and there was laundry littered everywhere.

Eric's heart sank when his eyes fell upon the wall unit constructed of glass and mirror. It was broken, leaving shards of glass and framed photos and figurines scattered all over the wooden floor. Some of the sharp pieces were covered in blood. Eric pulled out his Smith & Wesson.

"Oh my God," Calleigh let out. "Eric"

She drew his attention to the kitchen area. Her firearm had already been drawn. He carefully walked over to where she stood and froze when he saw a bloody palm print over the countertop. A drawer containing stake knives had been opened. The doorway was vandalized by a smeared bloody print.

"Sarah!" He yelled.

The two stood in silence, eager to hear if someone would answer back. This time, there was a reply. But not the kind they'd hoped. It was a female's weak groan.

Eric immediately headed for the bedroom. His heart raced with every step he took. He knew that the scene he was approaching was not one he would like at all. As he carefully strode down the hall, his footsteps echoed one after the other. His weapon was pointing downward, prepared for the unexpected.

Sarah's bedroom door was left ajar. The door and its frame were both painted black, but it was obvious that blood had stained it. Careful not to leave any fingerprints, Eric pushed the door open all the way.

Both his and Calleigh eyes widened at the sight that awaited them inside. Sarah was lying on the floor face down. A pool of bright red blood surrounded her slim body.

Eric ran over to the young woman. "Sarah," he said assertively, in hopes that once again she would answer.

This time, Sarah was silent. He put his gun away and quickly checked for Sarah's pulse. It was weak. Carefully, he turned over her fragile body and saw that she had been stabbed in her lower abdomen.

By this time Calleigh had already whipped out her cell phone out and was dialing 911. Spotting a facecloth stacked in a whicker basket filled with clean laundry, Calleigh grabbed the materiel and tossed it to Eric to try and stop the bleeding.

Eric's hands trembled as he caught the cloth and applied pressure to Sarah's wound. He heard her groan in pain as he pushed down. "Sarah, can you hear me? It's Eric and Calleigh. You're gonna be alright." He tried to offer some type of comfort.

Sarah's eyes opened briefly and then closed again. "Er-...Eric?" She managed to exhale softly.

"I'm here." He used one hand to brush her long dark brown hair out of her face. Her caramel skin felt cold to the touch.

Still unable to fathom what was happening around him, Eric looked over to Calleigh, who was now knelt on the other side of Sarah. Doing what she could to help.

"Ambulance is on their way," she informed.

The look in her eyes told Eric she was feeling the exact same thing he was. Anger. Whoever did this to Sarah was not going to get away with it.


End file.
